Healing is Not a Science
by Rhoswen19
Summary: Rodney discovered a few devices & asked Shep to borrow his gene. One of them has attached itself to Sheppard's hand and Rodney's scientific interest its peaked to say the least. If they could only see its a disaster waiting to happen! Shameless Shep Whump
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything… If I did Stargate Atlantis would still be on the air and there would be at least a movie out! **

A/N: I wrote this for my friend Lizz (lizard971) cus we both love Shep whump and we miss the show I'm not sure if it was for her birthday or just some weird arrangement we had, anyways here it is! Love u Lizz ^^

This story is finished but I still don't know how often I'll be posting the chapters. So don't panic, it's not going to be discontinued.  
Thanks to Amy (Aromene) for being my beta, she did an awesome job so whatever mistakes you find left they're all mine. Enjoy!

Healing is Not a Science

_By: Laz_

Chapter One

McKay and the other scientists had continued their exploration of the city, taking advantage of the quiet time Atlantis was currently enjoying. They found – yet again – another Ancient lab; it seemed that the main city center was surrounded by them. Not that Atlantis would ever be cataloged as normal, but secret labs kept popping up in every corner. The last one they checked looked extremely old; older than the average timeline of 10,000 years. The screens, the console and the devices looked as if they belonged to some sort of earlier generation. They didn't look that bad, especially considering the fact that the devices came from a highly evolved race, so they still looked rather impressive to any human.

Many long hours and even more power bars later, McKay decided to wrap things up, which elicited many relieved sighs all around the small lab. Not being able to put his job aside, he brought with him a couple of devices to study them further. He spent days doing so, but the problem was he couldn't even turn them on; they simply refused to power up with his artificial ATA. Finally when his scientific curiosity got the best of him, he swallowed his pride and decided to visit Sheppard.

McKay was walking towards Sheppard's office thinking of the right way to approach the subject without it sounding like he needed help. By the time it took him to reach the doorframe he still hadn't come up with the right sentence. He couldn't really see the Colonel from this angle but was pretty sure the spiky hair didn't belong to a stack of papers. He was about to knock when Sheppard's voice startled him.

"Something you needed McKay?"

"Me? No…umm… not really. Were you sleeping under there?"

"If I was sleeping I wouldn't have notice you standing there looking all nervous, would I?"

"I'm not nervous."

"Of course not, and you just happened to come here, visit me and see how I was doing because you're such a caring person."

"There's no need for the sarcasm Colonel."

"Then spit it out McKay!"

"Ok ok, there are these devices that we found in an Ancient lab in the southeast section..."

"Another one? Geez how many labs did these people have." Sheppard said, interrupting him.

"Many." McKay sighed and rolled his eyes. "As I was saying Colonel, we found some devices…"

"Do any of them still work?" He interrupted yet again.

"Umm… I don't know. You see…"

"Let me make it easy for you Rodney, I'll lend you my gene for a few hours." He said with a bright smile.

"Really?" – His face showed his excitement before confusion took over. – "Wait a minute, how did you know I was going to ask you that and why are you so damn cheerful about it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" – He looked at McKay, who had the would-I-ask-if-it-was look on his face. – "Your ego won't allow you to ask for help and I've had enough of this office."

"I could ask for help if the situation required it and don't you mean you had enough of the paperwork?"

"If you want to know what those gizmos of yours do any time soon, I suggest you shut up and walk."

"I'm a civilian scientist; you know you can't order me around."

"Like that ever stopped me, plus you're a member of my team so come on."

A couple of minutes later Sheppard reached the door to the science lab and McKay went straight to the work bench to arrange everything in order of importance. Or better said in the order they ranked on McKay's curiosity. John walked calmly, enjoying the time away from all the evaluations that were still on his desk and went directly to sit on the stool opposite to McKay. Like every other time he was McKay's guinea pig, it was part of their silent understanding.

"What are we working on?"

"_I'll_ be working on figuring out these devices, _you_ just need to power them up." – putting emphasis in the 'I' and the 'you' as if Sheppard was a four year old.

"Glad we cleared that up," he said sarcastically.

"Yes, well, you can start whenever you want."

"And by 'whenever' you mean now."

"And by 'want' I mean have to."

McKay handed him a small triangular object. It had a metallic look and branched out in small ripples from the center which came across the sides of it and what seemed to be small dark stones wedged on each corner. Sheppard held it on the palm of his hand and willed it to power up, but nothing happen.

"Are you even trying?"

"Yes Rodney I'm trying, but it must be dead."

"Give it another try but think harder this time."

John didn't say anything, instead he just humored him. He closed his hand around the device and thought it 'on'. The device began shaking softly in his hand.

"Whoa!"

"What is it?"

"It's shaking and it's increasing." – McKay made some annotations but stopped when he heard a low 'beep'. The energy readings were dropping.

"What the…"

"It stopped."

"That's because it died!"

"How disappointing"

"Yes…very…wait you were being sarcastic weren't you?" McKay's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Of course." - Sheppard gave him one of his boyish smile and how McKay hated it – "Now what's next?"

"You behave like a good Colonel while I file a report on this device. After that we'll move onto the next one."

The testing, pondering and annotations continued for several hours. Sheppard kept telling himself that being cooped up in a science lab was better than finishing off the military personal evaluations and the security reports and any other kind of paperwork Woolsey managed to send his way, but in the end he wasn't sure it was worth it. McKay had been typing on the computers, writing on a board and checking monitors most of the time. He didn't notice Sheppard had grabbed a device that was sitting in the far end of the workbench, until he heard a groan, but he quickly dismissed it. It was after the sound of an "Uh oh" that he got worried.

"What did you do?" Rodney asked accusingly, thinking Sheppard probably broke one of the devices when he started playing with them as soon as he turned his back. The Colonel was a child. Plain and simple as that: it didn't matter how hard Sheppard tried to convince him otherwise.

"Nothing…just picked up one of the gismos like we've been doing all day," replied Sheppard trying his best to look innocent.

"Which one?"

"This one…" - he said while showing the back of his hand to McKay.

The device was some sort of a flat disk with five protruding points. It reminded Rodney of a tiny Stargate except that this one had five silver spikes, one of which was trickling with blood as it had pierced through the palm side of Sheppard's left hand. As John peered at the back of his he could see that the other four spikes extended outwards on the corners of a crystal until they became bands that secured the device to the back of his hand. The two bands on the upper side of his hand had extended between his fingers. One between the pinkie and the ring finger and the other crossed between the index and middle finger. The remaining bands stretched across the palm and the other between the thumb and the index finger. In the center of his backhand was a small blue crystal full of Ancient letters that were scrolling like in the beginning of a Star Wars movie. Sheppard then attempted to clench his hand into a fist taking the movement in and noticed there was no pain. McKay asked Sheppard to turn the hand, that's when he saw that the spikes/bands fused together at the center of John's palm in a flawless union and that the wound had apparently sealed because his hand was no longer bleeding. The scientist snatched the hand rather roughly and began to examine it. He noticed there was no space between the skin and the device, so he tried separating it…the response was immediate when Sheppard cried out in a mixture of surprise and pain.

"Be careful, will ya?"

"Interesting"

"What is?"

"It's adhered to your skin"

"Really? You don't say. How do I get it off?"

"Don't you want to know what it does?"

_Colonel Sheppard, please respond. _

"This is Sheppard, come in."

_We need to discuss a possible mission._

"Actually, we may need to discuss something else."

"McKay…"

_What is it Dr. McKay?_

"Mr. Woolsey I think you better come to my lab."

_I'll be right there_.

By the time Woolsey made it to McKay's lab, the Colonel and the scientist were caught up in one of their usual bickering matches, just not the on the usual subject. Woolsey had also brought with him Ronon and Teyla who were curious about what their teammates were up to.

"You had to pick up the puzzling device, didn't you?"

"How is it my fault?"

"What is it?" – asked Ronon in his usual confused-angry look.

"Did I not just use the word 'puzzling'?"

"Dr. McKay" – the warning came from Teyla.

"So you don't know what it is or what it does."

"Like always Sheppard, that was a brilliant deduction. Not to worry I'll get right on it." – Changing his tone a bit, he offered – "Look, I'm sure it's nothing dangerous. It looks harmless."

"Why am I not comforted?"

"Because we've encounter devices such as this in the past and they proved to be, how would you put it, 'a pain in the backside'?"

"It's 'in the ass' and that was a rhetorical question Teyla."

"And I was trying to be polite."

"Look, I suggest you let me figure out its purpose before you remove it."

"Because you've done such a bang up job at it!"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Look I don't need to know what it does; I just want it off of me."

"Can you think it off?"

"Like the personal force field thingy?"

"Yeah, like that." - Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Let's see." – John concentrated really hard on the device. Thinking of all the shutting off commands his mind could conjure up but none appeared to work. – "Guess not."

"Of course, because that would have been easy and _you_ Sheppard, are too stubborn for that."

"Because Rodney McKay is such a fine example of things being easy!"

"Perhaps you two should stop fighting each other and work together to find a solution. After all you _both_ got the Ancient device working."

"That's an excellent idea Teyla, which means I'll assign the mission to Major Lorne until this is resolved." – Upon seeing the expression on Sheppard's face, Woolsey explained himself. - "I'm sorry Colonel but I cannot have you traveling through the gate without knowing what that thing does or if it puts you in any harm."

"Thanks McKay."

"I'll trust you'll keep me informed of your progress?"

"Yeah."

McKay was almost scared to have them all leave. Being alone with a grounded Sheppard couldn't be good for one's health. Specially if said one was the cause of the grounding. He thought of offering a sympathetic 'sorry' but it wouldn't be honest, since all he really wanted to do was decipher what the device was capable of doing. It had been a while since something interesting happened in the science department.

A few hours passed; Sheppard was about to climb the walls from boredom. There was only so much McKay time he could take before going nuts. Today he was way past his quota. The scientist had been muttering stuff; going from one computer to another while he just stood there. He hoped that at least what he found would help him get the damn thing off of him. He'd never been a man who wore jewelry and he wasn't about to begin now.

"Please tell me you found something."

"I found something."

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"McKay!"

"But I will."

"Today would be nice."

"Look I already have the data from the device and it's being converted as we speak, but I still need to sort out through the readings and that will take some time."

"How much time?"

"I don't know."

"You know, for a genius you don't know much," he said, deliberating throwing the bait.

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

McKay was so intrigued by the artifact that he didn't even mind the lure. He was holding the tablet close to his body while walking back and forth between laptops. So Sheppard, running out of things to do, sat on one of the stools and began rolling around the workbench like it was some kind of track. During his third lap he noticed that one of the devices on the table had a green light on. A green light that was blinking.

"Hey Rodney"

"Yes _John_?"

"Those are the gadgets you made me touch, right?"

"Yeah why?"

"Because one of them is blinking."

It was the triangular device he had first touched. He noticed now that the stones in each point were lights and that two of them were glowing a yellowish-green.

"What? Oh. "

"Good oh or bad oh?" - Just then the third light went on and all of them turned red.

"Bad, very bad!"

"Run!"

But the device exploded before they could safely reach the door.

TBC

A/N: #2

I know I don't deserve reviews because I left it on a cliffy but I honestly couldn't help myself!  
Click that button and tell me to stop being mean and I'll upload the 2nd one soon. I promise!


	2. Chapter 2

_For disclaimer check the 1__st__ chapter…_

Chapter Two

The force of the impact pushed Sheppard forward, tackling McKay, inadvertently protecting him from the fragmented projectiles from the Ancient device and everything that was inside the lab. Heck, from the lab itself. They met the wall sideways. It was over quickly but the smoke, the smell and the ringing in his ears lasted a while. He closed his eyes as he slowly slid down the wall until he found himself sitting on the floor. On his way down he was running through a mental checklist, concluding that all his body parts were present and accounted for, he focused on the pain.

"Rodney, are you ok?" – His voice was rough with pain.

"No, I'm not okay. What kind of question is that? We were just blown up!"

"Let me rephrase that, are you seriously injured?"

"Well apart from the obvious smoke inhalation, I'd say broken ribs, broken collar bone, my fingers feel kinda numb... " – The fact that McKay kept rambling about medical stuff told John that he was going to be fine. So for the time being he let go; they had slide down the wall and fell unceremoniously in a heap on the floor. McKay kept cataloguing his injuries while Sheppard silently nodded off.

"Are you paying attention? What kind of person asks another if they're ok and once that person answers they just go off into their own little world? Sheppard?"

"Still here."

"Oh my god! Where does it hurt?"

"Nowhere, I'm fine." – He offered with what should pass off as a smile.

"Now is not the time for jokes Colonel. Where does it hurt?"

"My back."

"Let me see." – All of his injuries forgotten in an instant, he tried not to move Sheppard that much but he could see all the blood on the wall and continuous drops falling on the floor. He even saw some clotting through the rag fabric that used to be a shirt and that alarmed him. – "Shit, shit, shit." He tapped his radio. "Medlab, this is Doctor Rodney McKay. We need a team in what's left of my science lab; there's been an accident."

"_Rodney, this is Carson a team is already on the way._"

"What can I do?"

"Relax Rodney, why don't you start by doing that?" - Sheppard tried to find a more comfortable position that could take some of the pressure off his back.

"Excuse me if I can't be relaxed when you're bleeding all over the place!"

"Everything is going to be ok."

"I know it is. Hello! Genius here."

Within minutes medical personal arrived; by that time Sheppard was fading in and out. Rodney's rambles weren't making much sense at that point, not that they did on a regular basis. He was transferred to the gurney and they were both taken to the infirmary. He felt the oxygen mask along with the IV they were inserting on his device free hand. The ride to the infirmary felt short but he noticed that in that time the pain he was feeling was decreasing considerably. He looked at the needle in the back of his hand, '_those must be some good drugs' _he thought. He knew from experience that he had busted ribs, and from the blood smear he saw on the wall after they put him on the gurney, he must have noticeable lacerations on his back from the flying shrapnel's. As they reached the infirmary Sheppard noticed that he was more alert than before like the shock from all the blood loss was wearing off somehow.

"Let's see what we have here."

"I'm fine" – the voice was muffled by the mask. By the time Beckett arrived he felt nothing but stiffness.

"I'll be the judge of that, lad."

The doctor cut away the bloody shirt from Sheppard and poured some saline before he began cleaning the lacerations for suturing. There were still some pieces of debris embed in the skin. McKay had been silently watching from his bed that was right beside Sheppard's. McKay's nurse concluded that aside from bruised ribs and some small scrapes and burns he was otherwise fine.

"What in the bloody hell?"

"What is it Carson?"

"Yeah. What is it Carson?" – said the patient taking off the oxygen mask.

"There aren't any other lacerations besides that." – pointing to a particularly deep embedded piece barely sticking out of the skin.

"That's not possible."

"Where does it hurt John?"

"Nowhere."

"Now is not the time to be all macho Sheppard!"

"It doesn't hurt _McKay_."

"At all?" – He hated to repeat himself so he just shook his head.

"Do you feel fine enough to sit?"

"As a matter of fact I do."

"This is going to hurt a bit." – Beckett said carefully pulling out the offending piece of debris.

"Oh my God! You are a butcher!" said Rodney who closed his eyes and looked away.

"Rodney? _That_ is not possible" said Carson referring to the skin that was slowly but surely closing in on itself. "…and yet it's happening."

Rodney watched with incredulity as the skin regenerated itself. The gash was closing, leaving no trace of ever being there. Both Rodney and Carson looked at each other bewildered. McKay moved and positioned himself in front of Sheppard. There were no burns or scratches on his body and everything clicked together in McKay's head.

"Don't you get it?" – He asked the both of them.

"I probably would if I knew what was happening."

"Do you trust me? And leave that solar system thing behind for once."

"Maybe"

"What'd you mean maybe?" Rodney asked insulted.

"Ok, fine, yeah I do."

McKay moved around the Medlab until he found what he was looking for. When Beckett saw what he had in his hand he almost had a fit.

"Are you daft?"

Carson, clearly alarmed, moved in front of McKay, trying to prevent what he was pretty sure Rodney wanted to do. Sheppard was just observing in an attempt to catch up with his two friends and it became clear just a second too late. "Whoa there McKay! What are you going to do with..." McKay grabbed Sheppard's arm and sliced the skin of his forearm open.

"That!" – Sheppard jerked his arm back and cradled it protectively but McKay grabbed it back.

"Wait! Watch" – once again the skin cells regenerated until the skin was back to normal and McKay announced excited. – "It's a healing device! Kinda like the one SG-1 had but it looks different and it certainly appears to work differently."

"And you couldn't just tell me, you had to cut me?"

"You pushed me off a balcony!"

"This is different McKay, you had a personal force field!"

"And you have a healing device!"

"Will you two shut your traps for a second?" said a clearly angered Beckett.

"Huh…"

"Can we get back to the more pressing matter? John, healing device or not I will be conducting some test to make sure you are in fact healed and nothing is threatening your health. And Rodney, aren't you the one who's always spouting off about how proper and careful scientific procedure must be adhered to?"

"Well yes, but…"

"But nothing Rodney, you are a busy man I'm sure you can find something to keep yourself occupied while I run some test on the Colonel."

"Fine" – With a huff McKay left the infirmary determined to gather all the information he could from the database. The device could prove to be an excellent help with the fight against the Wraith and if he found the structure's design he could replicate it. McKay was fueled with excitement over the newest discovery.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

_For disclaimer check the 1__st__ chapter…_

A/N: Wow! Only two reviews? o.O I might have to contemplate the thought of blackmailing or you know, begging. Whatever gets me a few more reviews… *shrugs*

But for now we keep rolling.

Chapter Three

"What happened?" asked a worried Woolsey

"One of the devices I discovered turned out to be a bomb. Apparently it activated when Sheppard touched it but when it stopped transmitting signs of energy we discarded it as depleted. Turned out it was still running a timer."

"We? I think you meant you discarded it, I wasn't allowed to do much, so this is your fault."

"Of course you would blame it on me! That is so like you military dogs when things go boom you blame someone else!"

"Was anybody else injured?" Said Woolsey, choosing to ignore the bickering he became familiar with.

"Like always Sheppard was the worse because of his hero complex."

"Doc says I'm fine."

"What I said was that you look fine now, but we have no idea of the possible complications of genetic alterations."

"Genetic alterations?" said Woolsey alarmed at the consequences that could have.

McKay explain full of sarcasm, "Yes. Sheppard also activated a healing device, which of course is the reason why he looks so refreshed after an explosion."

"But we don't know the extent of the healing."

"Didn't you say that you ran all the tests you could think about and all of them were clean?"

"Yes but…"

"Then, there you go." Sheppard was stopped by Woolsey from further gloating. "Dr. Beckett, is the Colonel clear for active duty or not?"

"As far as I can tell he's fine."

"Except for the new piece of jewelry he acquired." – John glared at McKay who shrugged innocently.

"There's that," he conceded.

"May I suggest something?"

"Yes Rodney?"

"Assign him to me."

"Rodney" – John said in a warning tone, indicating his patience was running thin.

"What I mean is, I can study the device, see how it works, get some readings and figure out how to turn it off safely."

"I think that's a reasonable idea. John?"

"Fine, but if there's an emergency off world, I go."

"Let's hope that doesn't happen but you have yourself a deal."

"You know it's not my job to satisfy your curiosity."

"Really? Because that's exactly what you're going to be doing." Rodney replied smugly as he made his way to his lab accompanied by Sheppard, who was still walking a bit stiffly.

"Be careful Rodney, you're not the indestructible one here."

"Said the guinea pig." - The soft reply of McKay was met by a punch to the shoulder and followed by a resounding "Ow".

"Watch out I bruise like a peach and unlike you I didn't come unscathed from the explosion. I'm probably still bleeding internally slowly but surely and that's the reason the incompetent nurse couldn't see it in the scan."

"Save it Rodney I'm having a really bad day."

"That's why you have me. When things go wrong you guys always turn to science to save the day."

"You know, science ruined my day and my shirt to begin with."

"I believe Colonel Sheppard is fine." – Teyla said with a warm smile as she too made her way out of the infirmary.

"Somehow I'm not convinced" - Carson muttered before going back to his office.

Once they got to their destination the banter had stopped and the scientist had turned into all business. Now that Sheppard was grounded all he could do was wait for McKay to work his science and get the device off. So the Colonel found himself sharing a science lab with McKay. The problem was they were alone…McKay had sent all of his 'underlings' away to attend different projects, including helping out with his primary lab that was now almost ruins because of a certain Military CO; or so McKay would say if asked.

The fact that he and Sheppard had discovered a healing device was the greatest finding for Rodney (not necessary great for the city but he was known to be a selfish egocentric man) and of course, since it appeared to work and looked better than the one SG-1 had, it made him feel all the more excited. He was thrilled like a fanlboy, almost to the point of glee, but a scientist would never admit that. Still, it had become his number one project and he didn't want to deal with the interruptions from the petty scientists he worked with, so he kicked them all out.

"We need to test it" – he said overexcited, getting the computers ready, taking out the necessary wires and looking for a sharp instrument.

Meanwhile John asked nervously "What kind of testing?"

"Like we did with the personal shield."

"Oh no."

"Why not?"

"Because…" He didn't want to sound like a coward but he wasn't a masochist either.

"Yes Colonel, that was most eloquent on your part, but still doesn't prove your point."

"Rodney, this is different."

"You pushed me off the balcony after you shot me!"

"In the leg!"

"Then let me repay your kindness."

"Do you remember what you felt after each testing?"

"Yes of course, not a thing, I'm pretty sure it had inertial dampening properties."

"Too bad this one doesn't have them."

"Oh."

"I couldn't put it better myself. Not to rain on your parade but you're not supposed to study the device, you're suppose to get it off."

"To find out how I need to study it."

"We both know that you just can't resist the need to understand your new discovery, see if it's truly a treasure. Come on Rodney, it happens with every gizmo you find! I'll be shocked if you didn't already know a lot about it."

He tried the insulted look but Sheppard knew him well enough to be fooled by it. That and Rodney couldn't lie to save his life. – "Okay, fine. From what I gather the Ancestors built the device to help them in the fight against the Wraith. Since depending on when they feed the Wraiths heal quickly, the Ancients wanted an equal opportunity to heal in battle. So I'm thinking it must be a prototype."

"A finished one?"

"I don't know…yet."

"Well hurry up and find the answer…Answer-Man."

"You want answers or the thing off of you? Make up your mind Colonel!"

"Off please!"

Hours had gone by and Sheppard was running out of things to do to keep him entertained. During their lunch break Sheppard had swung by his office and picked up the rest of the unfilled reports he'd left on his desk before the lab fiasco and brought them with him to McKay's lab but John really didn't want to fill them out. His new excuse for that was that his hand was itching and every time he tried scratching, McKay would slap it. He said it was a psychological response to having the device attached. Something about how his mind, in an attempt to make him get rid of the device, would convince him his skin was itching so he would scratch it off. Somehow, Sheppard was convinced by the lame excuse. From time to time, he would look away from his paperwork to check on the scientist who was lost in thought, looking at some equations written on the board. Just as he placed the last folder in the 'done' pile he heard the voice of the expedition leader.

"Colonel, how are things progressing?" Mr. Woolsey greeted upon entering the lab.

"They're not."

"Don't listen to him."

"So they are?"

"Well…yeah…um…slowly?"

"I see, well since that's the case I have a proposition for you."

"We're listening." Sheppard's face visibly perked up at the man's words. Meanwhile McKay was just plain annoyed.

"Seeing that during the past hours there hasn't been any indications of your health being threatened by the device and that Dr. McKay hasn't gone very far with his research I have decided to grant permission for the both of you to go off-world."

"Where are we going?" "When are we leaving?" - Were the unison replies.

"Your presence has been required by the people of PXL-971 and you leave in two hours so I'll leave you to ready," –and with that he left.

"Look at it this way; you get to test it in the field."

"And with you we all know something is bound to happen because you're a magnet for trouble."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You're most welcome."

"See you in the gate room and remember to pack something other than power bars."

"If it looks like I'm laughing on the inside, let me assure you, I'm not."

"You need to learn how to relax Rodney."

"Yeah, like that's really possible around Atlantis…or you."

"I heard that!" Sheppard said in the distance.

"Good! I wanted you to!"

Two hours later the team was ready to go. Sheppard showing the most enthusiasm out of the small group; McKay came in second place. The possibility of testing the device in the field and in new environmental conditions might have had something to do with that though. Teyla had shared her curious thoughts about how the people from the planet had not only come to know about Sheppard but to actually request to see him. Ronon just shrugged his shoulders; he never cared for such missions.

"Come on people it's time to brighten up a little."

"If I didn't know better I'd say someone put happy juice in your coffee," said McKay, clearly annoyed.

"I believe the only reason Colonel you are so energetic about this is because you get to leave your confinement."

"Yes Teyla, you're right but if they asked for us and Woolsey agreed, who am I to deny them?" Teyla's mouth had become a thin line showing her discontent. "Is a simple meet and greet."

"Yes, what could go…"

"Don't!" Sheppard and McKay said in unison to prevent such phrase from being fully uttered but ultimately failed.

"…wrong…"

"You had to say it, didn't you? Maybe we should take another team…you know, just in case."

"No Rodney we're not taking extra people for something like this."

"Maybe we should; remember what happened with the Genii."

"That was a long time ago."

"Yeah but things turned really bad, really fast."

"So we have some serious bad luck, no need to think it'll follow us wherever we go. If things go bad, help is just a wormhole away. Now let's get a move on people!"

"It won't follow us because it's permanently attached to us. Besides, your good mood always disappears when someone starts shooting at us. "

"Not listening, Rodney." And with that he disappeared into the event horizon.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

_For disclaimer check the 1st chapter…_

A/N: This is a short one, sorry!

Chapter Four

There was nothing particular about the social visit. Natives wearing customary fabrics and tunics: doing the usual introductions: there was the standard hike and tour and, of course, to Dr. McKay's delight (after finding out if there was any citrus in it with the say so of Sheppard) the normal feast and drinks. Roul was the leader of the colony and he seemed genuinely excited to be meeting with Sheppard and his team. At the end of the day everything was very routine, which was the reason why Sheppard had begun sensing something was off. Ronon was too busy diggin' into the food to really care. McKay was disappointed there wasn't anything science related for him to discuss with the people of the planet and Teyla was apparently feeling the same uneasiness he was because she chose that moment to voice her gratitude for their hospitality and follow it by asking politely why their presence was requested. For a brief moment the leader showed signs of being uncomfortable with the question, but he composed himself and said he had heard many things about them and was disappointed they hadn't had the pleasure of meeting them before. The gut feeling was making it impossible for Sheppard to believe the man even if the answer sounded reasonable. He decided to cut the visit short and get the hell out of dodge before McKay could prove the bad luck theory. At least he wasn't right about the good mood; that one went away while they were still exchanging pleasantries.

"Thank you for everything Roul, it was a pleasure meeting you and your people but I'm afraid we must leave."

"Why so sudden Colonel?" Sheppard noticed he seemed worried.

"It's my fault, you see I have a son I wish to return to before his next feeding" Teyla said quickly.

"Oh you have a little one, how wonderful! Should we expect you again anytime soon?"

Sheppard smiled politely before saying "Of course." Next to him someone said "Not" knowing full well who it was, he elbowed him.

"Yeah sure…let's do this again."

They all looked at Ronon expecting him to say his own goodbyes but the man only stared back at them.

"O…kay, leaving now. Thanks again."

After an awkward send off they began their trek back to the gate. When he felt it was safe to talk to the team about his gut feeling, Sheppard approach the subject.

"Don't you guys think that was odd?"

"Of course! It's extremely odd that a meet and greet has been so…uneventful."

"Exactly!"

"I was being sarcastic Colonel."

"And I'm not. Since when do leaders ask specifically for us just to have dinner?"

"Maybe our reputation is improving…call it wishful thinking."

"Something is not right." Ronon stated suddenly.

"Where have you been big guy?"

"No I mean, we're being followed."

"You sure?"

"Positive"

"We should try to make it to the gate."

"They're not just gonna let us leave."

"We're almost there, why not attack us now that there's some distance between us and home."

"Unless they already took over the gate and are ready to ambush us."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but make sure you and your weapons are ready for an imminent attack."

"So much for wishful thinking." Muttered McKay as he let his arm dangle free next to the handgun secured to his thigh.

They were maybe 10 minutes away from the gate when things got really hectic after the first shot was fired. His team fought hard against many enemies but Sheppard knew they just couldn't take them all. He yelled at McKay to get to the Stargate and radio for backup, he also sent Teyla to cover him. Both Ronon and Sheppard found cover behind the trees hoping for back up to arrive soon.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

_For disclaimer check the 1st chapter..._

A/N: Okay, this one is longer. Also this chap has some Shep whump and if you're thinking it's not good enough cause he has a healing device... bear with me. Enjoy!

Chapter Five

John saw a young kid aiming a gun at a similarly young marine, he recognized him as Lt. Ramirez, who was too busy to notice what was going on. He didn't want to be responsible for killing a kid even if it was justified. He ordered him to put the gun down but the command fell deaf to the kid's ears and to make matters worse John definitely didn't like the wild look on his eyes. The shots were quieting down. He tried to reason with him but the kid wasn't paying attention. Both of them pulled the trigger and two bodies fell down. The kid's fate took a turn the moment he fired his gun at his man. Sheppard didn't want to have another soul in his conscience, he only wanted to stop the kid and a shot to the leg easily did that. Ramirez got up and moved in haste to neutralize the young man who almost took his life without him knowing. After he assessed his enemy's wound and concluded it wasn't life threatening, he checked his own shoulder. The young soldier gave Sheppard a silent report that things were handled and secured and with that he carried on with his duties. Sheppard saw the gratitude in the soldier's eyes too but they didn't have time to acknowledge emotions right now.

He had no idea how things had gotten this bad but then again it appeared to be the Pegasus Galaxy's way of things. One minute they're fine and the next it's a fight between life and death. And it was just Sheppard's luck that the one mission Woolsey had approved him to go on ended up being a trap. Maybe it was Ronon's fault for jinxing them, maybe they shouldn't have talked at all about bad luck before going through the wormhole or maybe he should've paid attention to Teyla's apprehension about the mission. Sheppard knew it was never wise to dwell on the maybe's or what if's but they were always there and sometimes it was just hard to ignore them.

McKay had been holding his own during the gunfight. He had actually become a decent shot, probably because of all the previous bad experiences that ended in a shootout against villagers, Wraith and other kind of monsters. But he still was a bit off when it came to counting the rounds to know when he had to change the clip. One particularly angry looking native had him in his line of sight and McKay was reloading at the time. McKay heard a gunshot and with his gun ready, he pointed to where the sound had come from, only to see a bad guy falling. He turned to Sheppard.

"What? … How? …" - Words failing to form a proper question.

"You're welcome; now keep your eyes open."

"This is madness!"

"No more than usual."

Even when it felt like hours to them the attack had only lasted minutes. Then again it was all the time needed to kill and wound many. Once Woolsey had sent the back up team (after Teyla, with little but appreciated help from McKay, had taken out the couple of guys guarding the DHD thus granting the new team safe passage through the gate), the tables had turned and Atlantis took control over the situation. The fire had diminished considerably, but there were still a couple of stubborn rebels still shooting. Sheppard was running around making sure things had calmed down once and for all. As the last shots were fired he felt the projectile slam into his chest with such force that he staggered backwards and found himself falling to the ground, his arms flung out from his body and darkness embraced him. McKay could only watch helplessly as he went down and admire at the same time how Sheppard managed to get the guy before he got him. Of course admiration could wait until he knew Sheppard was okay and it could keep on waiting after that as well. Just when he was about to go help Sheppard he felt his head being split open and his vision going dark.

When he returned to consciousness it was because a constant drop of something falling in his eyes demanded it. He was lying on the ground on his side. He tried getting rid of the offensive drop with his hand but it only brought him pain. He looked at his hand, vision a little blurry, but he found blood on it and everything fell into place. McKay let out an uncharacteristic expletive and tried getting to his feet only to fall right back down when his legs felt like the earth shook underneath him. He didn't know how long he was out but the fact that the blood covering the side of his face was running in a steady stream meant it wasn't long, otherwise it would have slowed down. He could see a dark figure laying a few feet from him. Sheppard! His mind screamed at him and his stomach turned. McKay pushed every hurt aside; if he had to crawl to the man he would. It took more than willpower but he reached the unmoving body of Sheppard as fast as his out of shape body would let him, which was surprisingly fast, if Sheppard was conscious he would've been impressed. Fear and adrenaline were pushing him to a new limit. He didn't even notice the fire had ceased around him, instead he focused on the task at hand: Sheppard. He opened his vest and shirt, there were no penetrating wounds, but there was blood around his side and two dark marks gradually changing color to match the skin tone; a small one under the blood and a large one right above his heart. He pressed his fingers against John's neck waiting to feel his pulse, but nothing happened. He changed the position of his finger thinking he must have done it wrong but there was no pulse beneath his fingers.

"Don't do this to me Sheppard!" Rodney frantically began doing CPR on his friend. He was so nervous he didn't even know if he was doing it right. He started with compressions, stopping to breathe air into Sheppard's mouth while reminding himself that he's going to owe him after this. Compressions again, and then he hears 'snap'… "Not Good." As he was pressing down on Sheppard's sternum something snapped and shifted on the inside. Since obviously a broken rib was better than death he kept going until Sheppard started coughing and groaning.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," came the croaked reply.

"I think I might have broken a rib or two. I'm sorry but it's your fault for going all heart stopping on me."

"I think I feel them but hopefully not for long." – Sheppard said tapping the Ancient device. He got up slowly and made sure his feet supported him before he attempted walking.

"You okay buddy?"

"My invaluable brain is intact and I'll complain your ears off once we're back home where there are no bullets or bad guys ready to kill us."

John was sure McKay was giving him a half truth but he didn't have the right to questioned him about it; device or not he was hurting and he wasn't coming clean about it either. It seemed he had been hit right in the chest, but he kept going like nothing had happened: not the part about having stopped breathing nor the losing a pulse part. For him the job didn't finish after getting a bullet to the vest. It did when all bullets ceased flying and sometimes not even then. He had a responsibility to his men, to his team and nothing was getting in the way of that, especially with his new gadget. So if his heart was beating again, his lungs were working and he was able to move he would keep going until everyone was safe. – "Let's put an end to this mess so we can go home." – He walked to where the rest of the soldiers were gathered. – "Status."

"The enemy fled, possibly regrouping, Sgt. Johnson and Lt. Ramirez are wounded."

"Grab you gear, help the wounded, we are heading back. This is Colonel Sheppard requesting a med team meet us at the gate." He waited to hear the crackling on the other end letting him know Atlantis was receiving.

"I'll inform Dr. Beckett."

"Sheppard out. McKay can you get us out of here?"

"With pleasure. You know it would be nice for a change if we could visit planets where things didn't go wrong."

"Where have you been McKay? We don't even need to get out of Atlantis for things to go wrong."

"You're right, which is just sad."

"Okay people listen up! Wounded first!"

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

_For disclaimer check the 1st chapter..._

A/N: I have two things to say. The first is that I don't have any medical knowledge, I did some research but we all know that's not accurate enough. We're just having some fun here so don't grill me for it. And the second thing is I'm flattered by the story alerts but my pride is taking a hit by the lack of reviews. I've been posting often so you have plenty of material! Pretty please? *puppy eyes*

Chapter Six

They left as soon as the outgoing event horizon appeared. The injured soldiers were taken to the infirmary while Sheppard's team debriefed. Another planet that would be crossed off the list if Woolsey couldn't succeed with negotiations, and after the raining bullets part both Sheppard and McKay were hoping to never set foot there again. After the debriefing Woolsey ordered the team to have their post-mission checkout and if they were all cleared they could start writing reports on the disastrous mission.

Before entering the infirmary Sheppard told McKay to keep his little incident to himself which the scientist agreed only if his vitals checked out. They sit on side by side gurneys and patiently wait through the normal routine, the needle goes in, the blood goes into the test tubes, the pressure cuff, etc. Rodney required 8 stitches to close the gash on his head, and complained before: "_You should do a CT Scan just __so __we know I'm not bleeding inside my skull or something_", during: "_You're a butcher! I want Jennifer, in fact I'll take Carson before you."_ and after: "_I'm gonna have a horrible scar, can't a guy get some pain killers? Not the kiddie stuff__;__ I want the strong ones._" He was also diagnosed with a mild concussion but the attending physician told him after a few hours of observation he could go rest in his room, which of course brought another set of complains about how irresponsible that was and how he could die in his sleep without anyone knowing. Before the drama was over though, the nurse declared Sheppard was finished and he gave Rodney a smug look and the latter replied with an angry 'fine'. Before he reached the door the nurse stopped him.

"Colonel Sheppard, your pressure wasn't normal so I would appreciate it if you got some rest and came back for me to re-check it."

"Is that really necessary Mandy?"

"If it was high it would understandable considering the events, but Sir, it was somewhat low." She could see him about to break out the charming smile so she held up her hand. "I'm being fair Colonel. In fact, I'm being generous, if it was Dr. Beckett or Dr. Keller you would not be allowed to leave the infirmary."

"Okay you win. I'm gonna grab something in the mess hall, go to bed and be back here in six hours."

"Two."

"Four"

"Either you're here in two hours or I'll tell the doctor."

"Mandy I didn't take you for the tattletale type."

"If it will keep you healthy that's what I'll be."

"You drive a hard bargain. Guess I'll have to take it."

"Smart man"

"Mind telling McKay that? He doesn't think so."

"See you in three hours Colonel."

"You're the best Mandy."

She caved in and he was glad for it. The truth was he wasn't saying that his ribs were hurting quite badly. He had had broken ribs before so he was no stranger to that pain but he could feel them shifting every time he took a breath. He was going to have to wrap them himself once he was in his quarters and definitely taking some pain relievers. It wasn't that he was a masochist but everyone believed he couldn't get hurt; they had seen his skin heal. Nobody was going to believe he was hurting inside even when there were no indications on the outside. Okay, maybe Beckett would fuzz about it and that would mean a lot of tests and being grounded. So he kept the secret to himself. He grabbed a quick bite in the mess hall (since he made it a rule not to eat everything people offered him in the planets he visited) and left for his quarters. He was achy and tired and all he wanted was to forget the day's event with a hot shower and some well deserved sleep.

While in the mess hall he started to get a feeling in the bottom of his stomach that made him anxious and half way through his meal he lost his appetite. As soon as he reached his quarters he felt like he couldn't hold himself together. He went straight for the bed and sat down for a bit. It felt like his body was out of control, he couldn't breathe properly, he had a headache and the stupid feeling in his stomach had turned into raging nausea. When his symptoms cleared away somewhat he grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom. He got in the shower and let the water run across his sore body. He suddenly felt so tired and cold. The water wasn't hot enough to warm him, as soon as he moved away he felt like he was freezing but under it the drops of water were hurting him as they touched his skin; almost like needles poking him.

With some effort he got out of the shower, got dried enough and put on some sweat pants and a shirt and just when he was about to leave the bathroom the vomit rose to his throat and he emptied his stomach's content into the toilet. Sheppard closed his eyes tight; the only thing worse than vomiting, was having to do it with busted ribs. There was nothing he could do but ride the pain that was coming in waves. When he was done he rinsed his mouth and decided to wrap his ribs in case he felt like hurling again. To say that he was in misery was an understatement, but his pride wouldn't allow such words to be uttered out loud. Before climbing into bed he place a trash can near the mattress and put on some socks and an Air Force hoody. He wanted to do nothing more than to sleep it off but his body was so sore he couldn't find a comfortable position and the drill in his head was driving him nuts. He wondered why the device wasn't healing whatever bug he had picked up but he thought that maybe it wasn't rigged to cure the Earth flu. Finally, after an hour of laying there shivering he fell into a restless sleep. The cramps in his stomach were getting worse and he was sweating but still somehow he still felt cold. When the sick feeling returned he maneuvered his upper body just so he could reach the trash as he retched; at least his position and his previously wrapped ribs allowed him to do it without extra pain, which was a great thing considering the intervals were getting shorter. He didn't know how he could keep on going, there had to be nothing left in his stomach. He could taste something coppery and bile though. When Sheppard thought the wave was over he laid back to his previous position and before he knew it consciousness began to leave him.

McKay was still worried about the events that took place in the distant planet and because Sheppard made him promise that he would talk he couldn't share with Carson what had happened. He really missed Jennifer right now; the beautiful doctor might have been of some help but her duty called her to another planet. Is wasn't that he didn't trust the nurses because they didn't know what they were doing, because they did, most of the time at least. But with Sheppard, one little smile or a brainless comment and they pretty much melted; he'd seen it up close and personal, so that made it easy to doubt them. The next best thing was for Rodney to make sure with his own eyes so he stopped by Sheppard's quarters. Besides, he figured with his concussion he could convince Sheppard to keep an eye on him while he kept a close watch on John just to be on the safe side.

He called out and nothing happened, he pressed his ear close to the door but no sounds were coming from inside. He turned around to leave thinking that maybe the events of the lab, the device and the shootout had caught up with Sheppard and he was finally resting but his gut wouldn't leave it alone. Sheppard was definitely rubbing off on him, but then again after so many years it was the only possible outcome. So instead of leaving he did the only smart thing to do, he override the controls and got the door opened. He tip toed inside the dark room in case Sheppard was asleep. As if to be proven right he saw him sprawled across the bed, and hesitated, not wanting to intrude, but the feeling of something being wrong only worsens when the foul smell flies up his nose. He walked carefully up to the bed until he could hears the shallow breathing; for a moment he mistook it for soft snoring but he'd heard Sheppard snore before, too many times for his liking. Sheppard fell asleep in his lab while being his guinea pig, and this time it didn't sound the same. When he looked closer he saw the trash can; Sheppard had obviously been vomiting, which solved the mystery of the bad smell. He then looked from the can to the sick man's face and noticed a dark substance peeking out from his lips, which had gone a couple of shades lighter along with the rest of his features. He took a closer look and panicked; the unknown substance seeping out seemed to be blood. He immediately tapped his radio after checking and finding a weak pulse.

"This is Dr. McKay I need a Med team in Colonel Sheppard's quarters ASAP!" he then directed his attention back to the Colonel and slapped his cheek lightly to get a response. "Sheppard wake up! Talk to me John! My God you're burning up! Sheppard!" He remained unresponsive. "Come on John, I think once scared is enough for the day. You don't get to die on me twice! Wake up!"

"_Rodney we're on our way, what is it?"_

"Carson, its Sheppard he's unresponsive, his pulse is weak, he has a fever and he's been puking."

"_Sounds like food poisoning that got out of hand maybe something he ate in the planet."_

"He barely touched his food and Carson…"

"_Yes Rodney?"_

"There's blood on his lips and on the can where he puked."

"_I'm almost there Rodney__,__ stay put."_

As soon as Carson got to the room he began a cursory evaluation. He could hear Rodney's worried rant. "He still hasn't regained consciousness! What is wrong with him Carson? You're the doctor you're supposed to know!" nothing Carson hadn't heard before but in the situation they were in it was pretty distracting. "Rodney I just got here, you'll know after I know. "Hmmm…Pulse is weak…no visible laceration or contusions… shallow breathing…oh here we go, decreased breath sounds on the right…probably a pneumothorax…Oh lord…at least three fractured ribs as a probable cause…" His gaze flew back to the trash can with bloody vomit "People we gotta rush get him to the Medlab in record time!"

"Carson what is it?"

"He's got tension pneumothorax, but the blood means there has to be some internal bleeding as well, possibly from a broken rib or another source. I need to do a scan to know for sure. The Colonel is a very sick man right now and he needs help."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

_For disclaimer check the 1__st__ chapter..._

A/N: Normally I would apologize for posting the update late but seeing how I was out celebrating my birthday I think I deserve a pass this time ^^ Now that we're on the subject how about some reviews as a belated birthday gift? I'll take anything even a two word review!

Ps. The medical stuff is still not my forte but I did the best I could to make it sound believable.

Chapter Seven

Rodney had informed the others and together they waited on news of Sheppard's condition. It had been a good half an hour and nobody had come to say anything; not even Carson. He couldn't help but to think Jennifer shouldn't have gone to that planet to help with injured after the sort of earthquake they had had; she should be in Atlantis helping Carson fix Sheppard. At last the Scot appeared.

"How is he?" asked a worried Teyla.

"Maybe we should sit down first."

"What's wrong?" McKay asked hastily

"Well I was right, he presented symptoms of tension pneumothorax which we relieved by putting a chest tube in that proved to be rather difficult."

"Why was it difficult doctor?"

"The healing device would close the incision before we could successfully do the procedure but at the end we managed and the tube is in place. It appears the Colonel had a few broken ribs; they were putting pressure on the lungs before a recently blunt trauma to the chest caused the lung to collapse and the pressure built up in the lung cavity."

"Oh boy…"

"What is it Rodney?"

"Well you see, back at the planet Sheppard got shot in the vest and the bullet hit right on his heart. The vest caught it but when I got to him he didn't have a pulse…so I did CPR and got him back. He appeared to be okay after it but I think I broke some ribs."

"The force of the bullet must have stopped the heart…but why wasn't I notified of this before?"

"Well, he told me not to say anything and since Mandy let him go after the post-mission check up I didn't think much of it."

"But that's why you found him. You were checking up on him because you weren't certain."

"Yes…I'm sorry for not saying anything."

"It doesn't matter Rodney, I'm afraid we have bigger problems than that."

"Bigger? What'd you mean?"

"There was an anomaly in Colonel Sheppard's scan."

"Please don't say it's a tumor."

"No, it's a bullet."

"Thank God!...wait what? "

"It appears that Sheppard was shot in the abdomen as well, the bullet is inside and I can safely say it has moved." – He pulled up the x-ray so the others could see. – "The bullet entered here, just below the seventh rib. I cannot point exactly the path it took but there's plenty soft tissue damaged. Is bad but could also have been a good deal worse."

"How can it have been _worse_?"

"It could have killed him within minutes. Apparently it hit at such an angle that it was deflected up, and came to rest here lodged against the sixth rib, causing a painful but not immediately fatal wound. I'm most certain this is what allowed him to keep moving without killing him."

"You said there was a lot of soft tissue damaged though?"

"Aye, and its causing him to bleed internally which caused him to pass out."

"So instead of killing him instantly he gets to die a slow and painful death."

"How could this happen? Why didn't the healing device heal the bullet wound inside?"

"Maybe because it cannot expel the foreign object outside the body but still the tissue damage is there..."

"That's what the incomplete readings mean. The device is not working properly. All of those devices…of course why I didn't see it before."

"What is it Rodney?"

"The lab must have been a design lab where they were developing new prototypes. However, we could see it more like a repair shop for broken devices. The explosive that went boom hours after Sheppard touched it. Look, I've gone over the data and it's incomplete."

"What'd you mean Rodney?"

"The device doesn't work properly. I believe it only heals the superficial damage in the body. Any penetrating injuries or contusions, even internal bruising, would stay the same."

"So the gashes from the explosion healed but not the cracked ribs, the bullet wound healed but the damage stayed inside and the bruising from the broken ribs healed as well but not the damaged lung…oh my God!"

"The Ancients didn't put a lot of devices into common use. This one is just one more in a long line of abysmal, over-ambitious failures like the one that physically accelerate me in order to reach ascension."

"I think we should focus getting it off immediately."

"I'll check the Ancient database to see if they have any information regarding experiments with this particular device."

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I don't have a choice." With a grim look on his face McKay left in search of Zelenka. If he was short of time he needed all the help he could get. Besides the concussion wasn't a really bad one but the headache was making it difficult to concentrate. Teyla stayed behind with Dr. Beckett.

"How's Colonel Sheppard?"

"Not so good lass. He's fading fast. We are doing everything we can to help him but he needs surgery. There's only so much fluids and plasma can replace, not to mention he's having a hard time breathing because of his ribs."

"He's conscious?"

"In and out. He's mostly out of it though, very confused and disoriented."

"Can I see him?"

"Sure, come with me."

Teyla was convinced that if she saw him with her own eyes, she wouldn't be as terrified of losing him. But when her eyes finally found him something inside her chest crumbled. He was pale and sweaty and an oxygen mask was obscuring his mouth and nose. She could see the pain lines on his face and she tried to smooth them with her hands but when she did was surprised to feel the heat emanating from his skin.

"The fever is the body's natural response to what's happening. I'm afraid shock began setting in a few hours ago when no one knew what was happening inside of him."

"Do you think he knew?"

"He must have. There's just no way he could have dealt with such a high level of pain."

"You'd be surprised." – came Rodney's reply as he entered the room. - "But there's another explanation, the device emits some sort of sedative while it heals to limit the discomfort of the injury. I doubt he knew himself what was happening before it was almost too late."

"Any progress Rodney?"

"Some, but not enough"

"Maybe you should get a team of scientist on it, that way the work can go faster because he's got a collapsed lung, and he's still bleeding internally, plus he's suffering from abdominal trauma. He needs complicated surgery and I can't do that with that thing still on."

"I'm working faster than humanly possible Carson!"

"I'm afraid that's not going to cut it, which is why I suggested the scientific team. Rodney there's no way to calculate how much blood he's losing at the time and all I can do is put a chest tube in to drain some of the fluid that is building inside his lung but we not only have to repair his lung we also have to dig the bullet out and repair all the damage it did while he was moving. He's fading fast."

"I know that Carson, I was the one who told you, remember?"

"Rodney, listen to me and listen carefully. I'm running out of things to do to help him."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that he's got a couple of hours at the most."

McKay threw one last glance at the place where Sheppard's bed was. He could only see bits and parts of him, there were nurses around fighting just as hard as Beckett to keep him alive. This time things didn't seem bad…they really were.

"He's not going to die. Next time you see me I'll have the solution." With that promise he stormed out, the emotions that radiated from him were a rare display that no one was used to seeing.

"Aye, I hope so lad, for the sake of you both," he said sadly.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

_For disclaimer check the 1__st__ chapter..._

A:N: We're heading to end fast, just two more chapters if I'm not mistaken.  
Have a nice weekend!

Chapter Eight

When McKay returned to the lab he had left Radek in, he sat down and stared at the computer in front of him with his jaw set. It was frustrating not knowing how to save his best friend's life. He moved to yet another computer and looked at the Ancient data. The damn blow to the head had scramble his precious brain a bit; he felt like he knew the answer was there, he just couldn't grasp it as fast as he normally would. He and Zelenka had been trying to re-construct the fragmented data in hopes to not only to finish the program but to get it to reverse all the damage it had left untreated; otherwise John would die and he didn't want to dwell on that.

"Perhaps this is no good."

"What are you saying Radek that we should let Sheppard die? That's unacceptable!"

"No Rodney. I'm saying that maybe this reverse process is a waste of time."

McKay kept looking at the data, their computers and the ancient computers. Looking for something that would point him in the right direction, but he found nothing. His eureka moment hadn't come and Sheppard's time was running out.

"What else is there?"

"We know it cannot be removed surgically and we know that localized EMP does not work on ancient devices."

"There has to be a way."

"What about tricking the device into thinking he's dead? That would certainly make it stop healing."

"That's a terrible idea Radek!"

"It worked before with the Iratus bug!"

"Yes, but in the condition he's in now his heart won't restart…at all. Besides, his heart stopped when we were at that planet and the device kept on 'working'…stupid thing."

"Then I am afraid I don't know. Maybe we should freeze him; you know, put him in stasis until we find a way."

"Stasis won't … wait did you say freeze? That's it!"

"What is it?"

"We can freeze the device with liquid nitrogen or at least the important part. It's not exactly getting it off…"

"But it will stop it from getting readings from the body…"

"And shut itself down in the process."

"Is worth a shot."

He tapped his radio and called Beckett.

"_What have you got Rodney?_"

"I may have a solution," Beckett heard the 'we' correction in the background "_We_ think the safest way to remove the device is by freezing the crystal incasing the programming, break it and under it should the mechanism, you know like with a clock. If we also freeze that with the liquid nitrogen it will render it useless, unable to get readings from the injuries in the body…"

"_I think it just might work, I'll get right on it."_

"Wait for me, I'll be right there."

"_Hurry up,_" and with that he terminated the call and McKay went to the nearest transporter.

When he got to the infirmary everything was ready to start the removing process. The man in the bed barely resembled Sheppard; there were IV's in each arm with too many bags filled with different colors fluids. There was the tube down his throat that went in the moment breathing became too much of a task for him. There were other tubes in places were there shouldn't be any. Like the one sticking out of his side draining the blood out of his lung. Carson looked at McKay for a second, silently asking him if he was ready. The scientist nodded and Beckett began. It was a slow process, it required precision, otherwise the doctor could burn Sheppard's skin with the low temperature element and that wasn't part of the plan. When the first step was done; shards of the blue crystal fell away as it broke. There were no words to describe the mechanics of the device. It looked unbelievable; if it actually worked like it was supposed to it would have been a master piece. As the liquid nitrogen made contact with the pieces inside it instantly froze. The waiting felt like hours, it was like the room had stopped suddenly. Everybody watching Sheppard intently to see the reaction but nothing seemed to be happening. "It was a good idea Rodney," said Beckett with sadness dripping from every word. McKay never looked away from the device; he wasn't giving up hope, he simply couldn't.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

_For disclaimer check the 1__st__ chapter..._

A/N: Okay guys this one is full of McKay angst and Sheppard whump ;-)

Chapter Nine

The people around Sheppard were dispersing when Rodney's voice startled them. "It worked," he said with an incredulous tone. Heads snapped to the direction of the Colonel's hand. The silver spikes had begun retracting from the skin but they showed difficulty like old rusted metal. The white sheet on the bed was turning red where the hand from where the spikes had penetrated the skin, leaving puncture marks in their path. When all the spikes were once again inside the device, it powered down and fell off. That's when the horrified intakes of breaths sounded in the room. Every bruise, cut, burn and bullet hole, all those "healed" injuries had resurfaced on Sheppard's body. Then he was whisked away to surgery.

Rodney hated waiting. Waiting to know what the device was.

Waiting to get the device off.

Waiting for Sheppard to get out of surgery.

Waiting for Sheppard to wake up.

He almost died… again. This time was not only much closer but it happened before his eyes. One thing after another. Each one shortening his life without anyone knowing. The man's body was shutting down from the inside. Rodney wanted to blame himself, to blame Sheppard, even Beckett and his stupid voodoo medicine. He even thought of blaming the Ancients. So many great things came from them and such powerful knowledge they had possessed. He looked at Sheppard's face; so hollow, his feverish forehead covered in beads of sweat and dark circles standing out on the pale face. Not even his hair had the strength to go its different ways. Sheppard always has the ability to be strong for those around him, to take control of situations and the uncanny talent for sacrificing himself for others. Yes, he had many layers under his carefree and sometimes childish attitude. All of those things were still visible on his features for someone who knew him well, but the tube that snaked down his throat took all the attention. It was that same thing and all the other tubes, needles and machines that made him so angry at the Ancients for having created so many faulty devices, but in the end Rodney was doing what any other person facing the mortality of a close friend did, just looking for someone to blame. Next to him were Teyla and Ronon, also afraid of leaving the Colonel. Together they watched as the machine pumped oxygen into Sheppard's lungs, his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

Days later things hadn't improved much, but Carson made a point to remind everyone how things hadn't gotten worse either. "He needs time to heal," he said. "His body went through a lot of trauma," he reminded everyone. And "he's gathering all his strength back; he'll wake up when he's ready," was the latest statement. The truth was Carson was running out of optimistic speeches; of course that didn't diminish the faith everyone had in the Colonel. It was all a matter of time until he would beat the odds once more. Rodney, Teyla and Ronon had taken turns at sitting with him. As the time went by they had grown accustomed to the sounds in the room, the beeping of the numerous machines and the whooshing from the ventilator were a normal part of the scene. They would study his still form from the ever present chair at his bedside, waiting, watching for any flicker of movement that would indicate he was on the brink of waking up. None of them wanted him to wake up alone, but nothing happened. Woolsey visited him regularly and when work got in the way of that he made sure to radio the infirmary for an update.

"You're an idiot. Did you know that? Of course, you knew! I do make a point of constantly reminding you of the fact because you know it is a fact. Even though you can do all that crazy math in your head as fast as you can fly anything flyable. But that is beside the point; the point is that you're an idiot. You wanna know why? Because you always have to put everything and everyone else before you and your health! How can you spit blood and pretend like it's nothing? You know how hard it is to watch you slowly d… deteriorating before our eyes and all you cared about was knowing whether we all made it back unharmed." Rodney looked down at his comatose friend, silently wiling him to wake up and give him crap about something meaningless because if he did it meant things were going to be alright and he wanted nothing more then for that to be true.

He had stopped pacing right after he stopped ranting. Everybody knew that was how Rodney McKay dealt with things, but when yet another rant had gone by and Sheppard hadn't even acknowledged it he sat defeated in the chair next to the bed. "It's not easy being your friend John."

"You're a good friend Rodney," Carson spoke from behind him.

"I would like to say 'I know' but truth is I'm not. Asking for help is as bad for my health as it is for my pride."

"There was no way of knowing what the device would do." – Both were talking without taking their eyes from the man in front of them.

"Which is why I should've left it alone, but no, it goes against my nature to leave things alone even when I know nothing good comes from ancient devices. They should've really put warning labels on those things."

"Rodney, you found out how to deactivate it so I could treat him and that's why he's still alive. Don't beat yourself up about it."

"What are you going to say next, 'Everything is going to be alright'? Because that's getting old." – Beckett shook his head in disbelief at the man's sarcasm and left without replying; it was getting old after repeating it so many times but it didn't change from being the truth. He had faith in that.

There was no way to tell time conventionally inside the infirmary, but when the number of medical personnel decreased Rodney knew it was night time. He threw one last look at Sheppard and the monitors around him before he settled into a 'comfortable' enough position in the chair to sleep in. He was exhausted from dividing himself between lab work and Sheppard watching so it didn't take long for him to fall asleep right there and then. The nurses were used to the presence of Rodney, Teyla and Ronon, so whenever they did the routine check on the monitors, IV's and recorded vital signs if they found any of them asleep they would cover them with a blanket. But they drew the line at changing bandages and personal care of their patients. For those only medical personnel was allowed in the room. At the beginning they had insisted they could help but by now they had reached a truce. When the night nurse finished her round she made sure to cover Rodney before returning to her station. At least she had been spared having to say the 'He has improved somewhat but other than that there is no change'- speech. She was never fond of giving bad news and with that thought she wandered off to other patients.

Later on, Rodney jerked awake. With the blanket discarded on the floor he rubbed his eyes looking around for what could've woken him. His first coherent thought was to make sure Sheppard was okay, when his gaze fell on the finally opened hazel eyes, the cloud in his brain disappeared along with his ability to speak hundreds of words per second. All he managed to utter was a soft "Hey". Sheppard wasn't all there at the moment, understandably though. Rodney watched him carefully as he slowly blinked once, then once more and Rodney saw him quirk the corners of his mouth up in what he knew, if there was no tube or tape around, would be a small comforting smile and then Sheppard went back to sleep. McKay released the breath he didn't know he was holding and went looking for Carson. Things were finally looking up.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

_For disclaimer check the 1__st__ chapter..._

A/N: Here it is… our final stop ladies and gentelmen. Mind you it was angsty for McKay and very painful for Sheppard but that's the way I love them ^^

Hope you enjoyed the ride!

Chapter Ten

The next time Sheppard showed signs of being aware of his surroundings was almost a day later. He didn't open his eyes in a lazy attempt to see where he was, no. He snapped them wide open and began to thrash around. It happened while Ronon was in the room and the only thing he was able to do was yell for help. Ronon was a warrior; he wasn't used to feeling helpless, but in that moment when all he saw was fear in Sheppard's eyes, he truly didn't know what to do. The man in front of him was but a shell of the man he knew Sheppard to be. The warrior he respected. And yet with broken ribs, bullet wounds and having a machine breathing for him, he was still giving the medical personal a hard time. That's when it clicked in his head, the tube Sheppard was breathing through was the thing he was scared of. Ronon didn't blame him, if he was in the same confused state, it would feel like something attacking from the inside. "Sedate him!" Ronon heard a doctor shout."I did! He's fighting it!" responded the nurse. All of their words, telling Sheppard to calm down, to stop fighting them, were falling onto deaf ears. So Ronon decided to take matters into his own hands before Sheppard could hurt himself further. "Sheppard!" said Ronon in his gruff voice. "Let them help you. You are safe." While trying to hold him down as gently as he was capable of. It helped, Sheppard must have known Ronon wasn't one to kid around, so he relaxed enough to let the nurses do their jobs. That's when both Keller and Beckett made an appearance.

"Colonel, can you hear me lad? It's Carson." There was a barely noticeable nod and he continued. "I know you must be hurting like hell and that thing in your throat feels like it's burning all the way down. But you need it just a wee bit longer. John you're going to be just fine and I promise you, I'll take it out the moment your lungs improve and not a moment later. Now rest, everything will be better the next time you open your eyes."

Sheppard's eyes started drooping as the drugs finally took effect. He gave one final nod before his body went limp with sleep. And Keller approached Ronon.

"You did good," she said with warm smile.

After that incident it took John close to two days to crawl out of the dreamless sleep the sedatives had left him in. At that point he didn't know much, he felt like his brain was still loading and needed a bit of time before he could access the information stored there. The smell of antiseptic he recognized before he even opened his eyes; been there, done that, in fact too many times for his (or Beckett's) liking. The memories were flowing now. He remembered with clarity everything up to getting to his quarters and feeling sick and being in pain. After that things got fuzzy.

"Colonel how are you feeling?"

"Keller?" O…kay, he didn't remember her being around.

"Yes, now let's see how things are progressing." Usual stuff followed, blinding light, vitals, checking bandages, etc.

"Where's Beckett?" _…and what was that god awful sound, it sure couldn't be his voice._

"He should be resting but I'm just not sure. Things were a little hectic so I'm told. It seems trouble found you yet again. But it looks like you're healing nicely."

"I'm a fast healer." As soon as the words were out he regretted them. She gave him her usual Keller smile as if she didn't catch his unintended and really distasteful pun.

"Your team's hanging around, especially McKay. Think you can handle him?"

He wanted to say something sarcastic but was afraid his throat would spoil the intentions behind it. So he settled for giving her his best "I'm good" smile.

She nodded and proceeded to feed him ice chips. He fought the satisfied moan that wanted to escape him. If it was one of the pretty nurses he had no problem with it but with Keller it was another story. So he made do with a relieved sigh.

"There now you can talk to Rodney."

She winked at him before disappearing. Time was always a problem when he was in the infirmary. So he didn't know how many minutes passed after Keller left, but since McKay didn't come through the door he decided to catalogue his injuries. He could've asked Jennifer but he didn't want the medical version, he wasn't sure he even wanted the cliff-notes version. Truth to be thought – because he wasn't about to say it out loud – everything was hurting. Hurting wasn't the strongest word to describe the pain he was feeling all over but sadly it would have to do. Back hurt like a bitch, so did his chest and ribs and come to think of it so did his hand. His hand? His hand! He slowly lifted it and it was device free. Good. Details could wait 'till his brain was in working order.

With another sigh he tried finding a comfortable position but it was hard to when he could feel pain all around his body. Sheppard closed his eyes and let the sounds of the room fill him. Many 'beeps' sounded near, voices were more distant and someone dragging his feet…McKay…

"How are you feeling?"

_Jackpot_ thought Sheppard before replying. "Sore but not too bad."

"Either you're on the really good stuff or you're a bad liar."

"A little bit of both." They both felt the presence of the awkward silence that had been lurking around waiting for an opportunity to show its ugly face. So Sheppard tried to keep it at bay. "What happened to that thing?"

"Destroyed and probably rusting in the bottom of the ocean as we speak."

"Good." Silence and McKay didn't really go together. That's what made it so uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," he finally said looking at the floor, ashamed of the excitement he felt when it had all started.

"It's not your fault. I touched it without being asked to." If things were going to be fine once and for all Sheppard had to take care of McKay's guilt trip.

"I thought it was a great discovery, I was so wound up about it I never stopped to examine what it was doing to you instead of focusing on what it could do for all of us. Then I was afraid I couldn't fix it in time."

"But you did. I'm alive aren't I?"

"It came close!"

"It always does, the point is if it can be fixed I know you'll find a way, but you don't have to fix everything."

"You know what? It shouldn't be!"

"You lost me, you shouldn't be the one fixing things?" Sheppard was confused about the sudden change of emotions.

"Yes!...What?...No! I mean you shouldn't always come close to dying. That act is getting old."

"Is not like I go asking for it, it just happens." And just like that the tables were turned and McKay focused his anger at Sheppard.

"It happens because you have a self-sacrificing hero complex that you can't seem to shake and it's not healthy!"

"When did you turn this around at me?"

"When I started thinking that when it isn't a faulty ancient device, it's an explosion, a bullet, a knife, a creature; hell with you it can be anything!"

"Too bad that gizmo didn't actually work, it could've come in handy for me then."

"I might start thinking of making one up, either that or buy you some life insurance."

"I don't think any insurance will cover either this galaxy or my job related accidents."

"I guess not but I could name myself as the sole beneficiary and when the military uses the necessary-clearance card I could make some serious money."

"Good for you." There was a pause before he continued. "So are we good?"

"We are."

Rodney finally relaxed into the chair he had grown accustomed to. John smiled again and settled back against the pillow. Everything was fine now. He let his eyes slip shut. His body barely had saved up the energy for the much needed conversation and it left him exhausted. Besides, he wasn't looking forward to feeling… well, every break, incision, and bruise his body was covered with.

Finis


End file.
